| Illinois Probable Starters (from the previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
13 |
Tracy Abrams |
6-2 |
185 |
Gr. |
10.5 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
Team high 19 steals |
| G |
5 |
Jalen Coleman-Lands |
6-3 |
190 |
So. |
9.1 |
2.2 |
1.1 |
16.5 ppg in last 2 |
| G |
21 |
Malcolm Hill |
6-6 |
225 |
Sr. |
18.6 |
6.1 |
2.2 |
2nd in B1G in scoring |
| F |
12 |
Leron Black |
6-7 |
220 |
r-So. |
9.9 |
6.8 |
0.5 |
CH 15 rebs. vs. OSU |
| C |
22 |
Maverick Morgan |
6-10 |
245 |
Sr. |
9.8 |
3.9 |
0.7 |
17.0 ppg in last 2 |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
D.J. Williams |
6-7 |
210 |
So. |
2.6 |
1.2 |
0.5 |
5 BLK |
| G |
1 |
Jaylon Tate |
6-3 |
170 |
Sr. |
3.3 |
1.6 |
3.8 |
2.2 A/TO |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
4.8 |
3.8 |
0.0 |
13 p, 8 r vs. Mich |
| G |
3 |
Te'Jon Lucas |
6-0 |
170 |
Fr. |
3.4 |
0.8 |
2.2 |
8 asst. vs. Mich |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
190 |
So. |
1.5 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
6-14 3FG |
| C |
33 |
Mike Thorne Jr. |
6-11 |
280 |
Gr. |
5.9 |
4.2 |
0.3 |
56.9% FG |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-5 |
195 |
Fr. |
0.5 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
4 G |
| G |
41 |
Clayton Jones |
6-0 |
170 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
5 G |
| F |
43 |
Michael Finke |
6-10 |
230 |
r-So. |
7.3 |
4.8 |
0.4 |
1.8 OREB/G |
| G |
44 |
Alex Austin |
6-4 |
190 |
r-Sr. |
0.3 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
6 G |
| Sitting Out |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
10 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
165 |
So. |
- |
- |
- |
Sitting out season (transfer) |
| F |
45 |
Cameron Liss |
6-6 |
220 |
Jr. |
0.6* |
0.0* |
0.2* |
Redshirting season |
Head Coach John Groce
Career Record: 174-122/.588 (9th year)
At Illinois: 89-66/.574 (5th year)
Big Ten: 31-45/.408
Series Notes vs. Maryland
Series Record: Maryland leads 7-5
Series Streak: Maryland W-2
Record at Champaign: Tied, 1-1
Series Streak at Champaign: Illinois W-1
Last Meeting: Maryland 84, Illinois 59 (Dec. 27, 2016 at College Park)
Groce vs. Maryland: 1-2
Opening Tips
• Winners of eight of its last 10 games overall and 9-1 on its home court this season, Illinois is back in action at State Farm Center on Saturday against Maryland (5 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
• Illinois is aiming to win consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since closing out its 2015 home schedule with back-to-back victories over Northwestern (86-60, Feb. 25, 2015) and Nebraska (69-57, March 4, 2015).
• Illinois also is looking to start 3-0 at home in Big Ten play for the first time since the 2012 conference race.
• Illinois is coming off its best shooting performance in the last six seasons set in Wednesday's home victory over Michigan. The Illini connected on 64.2 percent from the field (34-53), its highest accuracy since shooting a school-record 70.5 percent (31-44) in a home win over Northwestern on Jan. 6, 2011.
• Illinois is averaging 86.6 points on 51.6 percent shooting from the field (308-597), including 43.5 percent from 3-point range (91-209), in 10 games this season at State Farm Center.
Fresh Faces
Following the Indiana game on Jan. 7, Coach John Groce made the decision to move up Illini freshmen Te'Jon Lucas and Kipper Nichols in the rotation. The duo responded in a big way in the victory over Michigan on Wednesday night. Lucas ran the offense well, dishing out a career- and game-high eight assists in 23 minutes, equaling the most assists by a UI player on the season. Nichols provided a list on both offense and defense, scoring a career-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbing a career- and game-high eight rebounds in only 19 minutes. Five of his boards came on the offensive end, the most by an Illini this season.
Notes From The Last Time Out: Illini 85, Michigan 69 (Jan. 11)
• Illinois started a lineup of Abrams, Coleman-Lands, Hill, Black and Morgan for the first time, marking the Illini's fifth different starting lineup this season.
• The game was close throughout the first half before the Illini erupted with a 17-2 run over the final 4:04, turning a 34-32 deficit into a 49-36 at halftime.
• The Illini set season highs with 64.2 percent shooting from the field (34-53) and 64.3 percent from 3-point range (9-14).
• Illinois had its best field goal percentage since shooting a school-record 70.5 percent against Northwestern on Jan. 6, 2011.
• Illinois' 49 points in the first half marked its highest total against a D-1 opponent this season.
• The Illini shot 62.5 percent in the first half (20-32); good for its best first-half shooting percentage this season and second-best half overall (67.9 percent vs. N.C. State).
• Illinois improved to 11-2 on the season when scoring at least 75 points.
• The Illini held Michigan to just 17 rebounds in the game, the least by an Illinois opponent since Dec. 6, 2014 when American had 16.
• Illinois' 16-point margin of victory was its highest against Michigan since Jan. 16, 2008 when the Illini defeated the Wolverines by 18 points (75-57).
• Six Illini scored in double-figures, tied for the most players in double digits this season ( vs. McKendree).
• The Illini bench outscored the Michigan bench, 28-9.
• Freshman Te'Jon Lucas had a career-high eight assists. The eight assists are tied for a team-high this season (Jaylon Tate, 8 vs. McKendree).
• Freshman Kipper Nichols had career highs in points (13), rebounds (8), minutes (19), field goals made (6), field goals attempted (9) and 3-pointers made and attempted (1-1).
• Nichols had five offensive rebounds, most by an Illini this season. His five offensive boards were more than Michigan amassed as a team (4).
• Senior Maverick Morgan tied his season high with eight field goals made (on nine attempts) for a team-high 16 points. He has now scored in double figures in six of the last seven games after scoring 10+ twice in the first 10 games. Morgan also added a career-high four assists.
• Senior Malcolm Hill had 15 points, scoring in double-figures for the 15th time in 17 games.
• Sophomore Jalen Coleman-Lands had a career-high four assists. He tied his previous career best with three in the game's first 3:50.
• Sophomore Michael Finke was 4-for-4 shooting, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range for his first career perfect shooting night. Finke is now shooting 9-for-12 since the calendar turned to 2017.
• The Illini freshmen and sophomores combined for 58.8 percent of Illinois' scoring (50 of 85 points), the highest points percentage by UI underclassmen in a game this season.
Hill Heating Up
Malcolm Hill is used to carrying the scoring load for the Illini. He has been incredibly efficient over the last five games, recording 20 or more points four times and combining to average 19.6 points while shooting 50 percent from the field. Hill also is earning 9.4 free throw attempts per game, averaging 7.6 points at the line during this stretch.
Post Production
Along with Hill, Illinois has also received consistent play from senior center Maverick Morgan. Over the last seven games, the senior has scored in double figures six times, averaging 13.4 points on 65.5 percent shooting along with 5.7 rebounds.
JCL Feeling It
Jalen Coleman-Lands had a record-setting freshman year for the Illini last season, draining 87 treys, the most ever by an Illini rookie. Now in his sophomore season, Coleman-Lands is once again hitting from long distance. He has scored at least 12 points in four of the last six games, averaging 11.5 points. Of his 23 field goals during this stretch, 17 have come from behind the arc, an average of 2.8 made treys per game.
One of the Best
Along with climbing the Illinois all-time scoring list, Malcolm Hill also ranks among the nation's leading active career scorers. Hill's current total of 1,559 points ranks 25th in NCAA Div. I, and fifth when looking at players from the six major conferences. Hill's total of 459 made free throws, meanwhile, ranks sixth nationally and third among major-conference players. In the Big Ten, Hill ranks behind only Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes in each category.
